BLURRING THE LINES TO IMPROVE THE ODDS: THE READY BY 21 CHALLENGE Ensuring that every young person i

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BLURRING THE LINES TO IMPROVE THE ODDSTHE READY
BY 21 CHALLENGEEnsuring that every young person
is ready for college, work, life

• Presented at the American Association of School
  Administrators
• 2005 Women Administrators ConferenceArlington,
  Virginia

Karen Pittman, Executive Director The Forum for
Youth Investment November 2005
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The Importance of Investing in Youth

• The continued ability of states to compete in
  the global economy hinges on how well they enable
  their younger citizens to attain the competencies
  and social attributes necessary to ultimately
  fuel economic growth and contribute to the
  well-being of their families and communities.
  
• National Governors Associations Center for
  Best PracticesOctober 2003

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Wanted Well-Prepared Children and Youth
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What competencies and attributes are needed?

• The National Research Council reinforced the need
  to support the development of a range of assets
• Physical development
• e.g., health habits, risk management skills
• Intellectual development
• e.g., life skills, vocational skills, school
  success, critical thinking, decision-making,
  navigation
• Psychological and emotional development
• e.g., good mental health, positive self-regard,
  self-regulation, coping skills, autonomy, time
  use
• Social development
• e.g., connectedness, sense of place, attachment
  to pro-social institutions, navigate cultural
  contexts, commitment to civic engagement

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How many young people are ready?

• Researchers Gambone, Connell and Klem estimate
  that
• 43 of youth are doing well in their early 20s,
  but
• 22 are having difficulty

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What does it mean to be ready?

• Doing well in 2 life areas and ok in 1
• Attending college or working steadily
• Have good health, good health habits, healthy
  relationships.
• Volunteer, be politically active, be active in
  religious institutions, community.

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What does it mean to NOT be ready?

• Doing poorly in 2 life areas and not well in any

• Have HS diploma or less, be unemployed, on
  welfare
• Have poor health, poor health habits,
  unsupportive relationships
• Commit an illegal activity about once a month

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What can be done to help young people be ready?

• NRC suggests a set of supports that teens need to
  have in the settings where they spend time that
  reflect
• Physical and psychological safety
• Appropriate structure
• Supportive relationships
• Opportunities to belong
• Positive social norms
• Support for efficacy and mattering
• Opportunities for skill-building
• Integration of family, school and community
  efforts

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Do these supports really make a difference?
Even in adolescence?

ABSOLUTELY Gambone and colleagues show that youth
with supportive relationships as they enter high
school are 5 times more likely to leave high
school ready than those with weak
relationships.
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Do these supports really make a difference?

• and those seniors who were ready at the
  end of high school were more than 4 times likely
  to be doing well as young adults.

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Do they have equal impact on all children and
youth?
We need new strategies for convincing key
stakeholders that it is worth making the effort
for the young people who need the most support.
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Could they Change the Odds?
Gambone/Connells research suggests that if all
young people got the supports they needed in
early adolescence, the picture could change

• from 4 in 10 doing well
• to 7 in 10 doing well
• .

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Wanted Strong, Well-Orchestrated Responses
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Ensuring that Every Young Person is Ready by 21
means We Need to Think Big
Incremental change can be easier to attain, but
limited policy improvements for children can
frustrate policy advocates and parents when
conditions for children are slow to improve.
Who Speaks for America's Children?
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We Need to Think Differently and Act Differently
The complexity of problems faced by
disadvantaged youth is matched only by the
complexity of the traditional Federal response to
those problems. Both are confusing, complicated,
and costly. -- The White House Task
Force for Disadvantaged Youth, 2004
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Both the Public and Policy Makers are Confused

• Building a coherent message on childrens
  policy is challenging. . . because there is no
  clearly discernable legislative agenda for
  children and families rather, a multitude of
  individuals and organizations with different
  agendas are sending mixed messages about what is
  best for children.
• -- State Legislative Leaders Foundation, 1995

• informal focus groups had very little to no
  confidence that public policy had any solutions.
  Most just shook their heads and said they could
  not imagine what the public sector might do,
  except improve the schoolsand their confidence
  in that was not high.
• Gary Walker, the Policy Climate for Early
  Adolescent Initiatives, 2002

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We need to Act Together

• Paul Hill, a leading education researcher at the
  University of Washington suggests that

.. the traditional boundaries between the public
school systems responsibilities and those of
other community agencies are themselves part of
the educational problem and asks How can this
community use all its assets to provide the best
education for all our children?
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To Create Strong Community Partnerships for
Learning
Hill calls for Community Education Partnerships,
a genuine community-wide system in that all
the communities resources, not simply its
schools, would be available in an organized way
to meet childrens educational needs and support
their general well being. ---Paul Hill, It Takes
a City
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Finding Common Ground Promoting Learning in
School and Out
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The Facts

• Critical learning can and does happen outside of
  schools for every kind of student.
• Not all students who need to learn are in school
  (nationally,32 do not graduate on time).
• Those in school are frequently not absorbed in
  learning because teachers have not had to master
  the art of creating youth-centered learning
  environments.

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Structured, voluntary programs get and keep
students attention
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Obviously, the point isnt that we should shut
down schools and let students join youth programs

• The point is that high-yield learning
  environments can be found or created in school
  and out

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Where and when does learning really happen?
WHERE?
In the Community
In the School Building

Libraries, Museums, Colleges, Businesses
During the School Day
School Classrooms Spaces
WHEN
Families, CBOs, Faith, Parks Rec, Community
Centers
Extra-curriculars, Community Schools
Out of School Time
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Learning-focused reforms are happening in all of
these places
WHERE?
In the Community
In the School Building
There is increasing evidence that the
characteristics of good learning environments are
the same across the range of settings where
learning happens.

During the School Day
Formal Learning
WHEN
Enriched Learning
Out of School Time
Informal Applied Learning
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The Learning First Alliances Criteria for Good
Learning Environments

• Physical plant that promotes safety and
  community School- wide approaches to improving
  school climate, safety discipline
• A continuum of supports for students who need
  them
• Orderly and focused classrooms
• Respectful supportive relationships among and
  between students, school staff and parents
• Involvement of family, students, school staff and
  the surrounding community
• Standards and resources to support continuous
  improvement based on data
• A challenging and engaging curriculum for all
  students
• Frequent opportunities for student participation,
  collaboration, service and self-direction.

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The characteristics of high quality learning
environments really are universal

• LFAs list echoes that of the the National
  Research Council
• Physical and psychological safety
• Appropriate structure
• Supportive relationships
• Opportunities to belong
• Positive social norms
• Support for efficacy and mattering
• Opportunities for challenge skill-building
• Integration of family, school and community
  efforts
• National Research Council, 2002

Relationships Relevance Rigor
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The Report Affirms that Some Environments are
Toxic
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Educators need to assess the quality of the
formal and informal learning environments

• The Forum has created an accessible tool that
  helps young people, teachers, parents, community
  members anchored rating sheets for assessing
• Overall climate
• Classroom instruction
• Connections
• Youth outcomes
• Youth engagement

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But the Challenge is not just to improve
in-school environments or to create 3-6 pm
after-school programs

• prevention to participation
• cognitive, social, civic, physical

school
School Fills only a Part of the Developmental
White Space, especially by high school
after-school
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The Challenge is to Find partners to help fill
all the learning and development spaces

• Post-secondary education and training
  organizations
• Youth-serving organizations, second chance
  programs
• CBOs (non-profit service providers and
  associations)
• Businesses (jobs, internships, apprenticeships)
• Faith-Based organizations
• Libraries, Parks, Recreation Departments
• Community-based Health and Social Service
  Agencies
• Juvenile Justice Programs
• Families, Neighbors and Peer groups

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To Deliver 21st Century Skills Content The
Common Core of Ensuring All Youth are Ready

• Ready for Work
• Youth Employment Outcomes

Ready for College Academic Outcomes
21st Century Skills Content Information
Media Literacy Communication Critical Systems
Thinking Problem Solving Creativity, Intellectual
Curiosity Interpersonal Skills Self-Direction Acco
untability and Adaptability Social
Responsibility Financial Literacy Global
Awareness Civic Literacy
Specific Vocational Knowledge Skills
Subject Matter Knowledge
Community partners are calling for and
contributing to the development of broader skills
and knowledge.
Cultural, Physical Behavioral Health Knowledge
Skills
Ready for Life Youth Development Outcomes
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The Partnership for 21st Century Skills
Validated that the Public Recognizes the Skills
Gap
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NGA ''Rate Your Future'' SurveyPreliminary
Findings Students want preparation for
college, work, life

• Students strongly sense high school is not
  adequately preparing them for their future, and a
  third -- including those most at risk of dropping
  out -- feel overlooked by their high school.
• One-third rate their schools as doing a "fair" or
  "poor" job of "giving them the skills to
  succeed."
• Six out of 10 rate their high schools either
  "fair" or "poor" in preparing them for a career
  or trade or providing them with tools to learn a
  trade or skill.

• About one-third say their high schools are doing
  a "fair" or "poor" job in preparing them for
  college. Only a quarter say their schools do an
  "excellent" job.
• Three in 10 students say their high school does a
  "fair" or "poor" job challenging them
  academically and nearly 70 percent say teachers
  have high expectations for only "certain
  students."

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Wanted Strong, Actionable Goals
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COMMUNITIES NEED COHESIVE VISION/GOAL STATEMENTS
that are linked to accountability

• Our Communities need to ensure
• that throughout their developmental years and
  throughout their waking hours all children and
  youth have constant access to a range of
  services, supports and opportunities in the
  settings where they spend their time and in ways
  that address challenges, strengthen skills and
  build connections, in order to be well-prepared
  for college, work and life and
• that those young people who need extra assistance
  get it.

• AGE
• TIME
• SUPPORTS
• SETTINGS
• STRATEGIES
• OUTCOMES
• CHALLENGES

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Discuss Define Each Dimension of Development
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Lock in Commitments to Improving a Linked Set of
Outcomes

• Learning school achievement, basic skills
• Thriving physical, behavioral health/risks
• Connecting social/emotional well-being
• Working employment career experience
• Leading civic community engagement

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Promote a Youth Policy Dashboard, Not Just a
Report Card
Cars are Complicated Drivers Monitor their
Progress by



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Define goals using dimensions 2 at a
time (Outcomes by Age)
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create a balanced set of Indicators that range
from problem reduction to participation (Shown
for 15- to 19-Year-Olds)
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ask each system/setting to stock of all of their
efforts (Education System Shown, High School Ages
Shown)
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Take Stock of efforts/initiatives in basic or
sophisticated ways
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Set a shared goal to change the odds (shift red
to yellow, yellow to green)
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Wanted Engaged Education Partners
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The National High School Alliance Vision for
High Schools
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Changing the Odds for children and youth

• From 4 in 10 doing well
• To 7 in 10 doing well
• Requires Changing the Way We Do Business

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Is a Challenge to All Leaders to

• Create a Shared Big Picture Vision/Goal with
  multiple indicators
• Establish Big Ticket Accountability procedures to
  ensure that all resources public, private,
  personal are effectively utilized.
• Create a Big Tent Partnership under which all
  stakeholders can deliberate, commit to move
  pieces of a shared vision
• Adopt Big Payoff Change Strategies to ensure that
  there is adequate horsepower to sustain progress.

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The Components of Sustained Change
Partnerships
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Education Leaders are rightfully focused on
improving schools
A task that can benefit from better coordination
with other systems and settings and a shared
vision of desired outcomes and inputs
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Improving Education Outcomes for All
Often requires changes in education policy and
resource alignment with other systems
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Deep engagement of the community in not only
supporting education plans, but owning
educational outcomes
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And sustained involvement of young people, their
families and their teachers in planning and
decision making discussions
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Improving Education Outcomes for All
Requires educators to be active leaders of Big
Picture Partnerships that encourage community
ownership of student success and
community stewardship
of all community
learning resources
Partnerships
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• Where do we begin?
• The Forum wants AASA to join take on the Ready by
  21 Challenge

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Moving ideas to impact

• A CALL FOR LEADERSHIP ACTION
• Issued to diverse groups of stakeholders
• In partnership with their representative
  organizations
• Supported with relevant information and resources

• A SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR CHANGE MAKERS
• Working to increase commitments capacity to
  strengthening community partnerships for
  cross-cutting change in their states and
  communities

• A GALVANIZING BIG PICTURE MESSAGE
• Grounded in research
• Tested in the field
• Accessible to the public
• Ready for Customizing

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Critical First Step

• A Galvanizing Public Idea
• that
• Articulates a vision of what is desirable
• Stimulates deliberation
• Sparks re-examination of premises values
• Broadens the range of potential responses
• Deepens societys understanding of
• The importance of improving outcomes for children
  and youth
• Based on definition offered by Robert Reich,
  
• The Power of Public Ideas, 1988

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What is a Public Idea?

• Public ideas simultaneously establish the
  assumptions, justifications, purposes and means
  of public action in order to authorize and
  instruct different sectors of the society to take
  actions on behalf of public purposes.
• Public ideas are more than marketing campaigns
  and have relevance for more than public policy
• Public ideas have impact when they are dominant
  in public policy debates, influence the decisions
  of private organizations and mobilize individual
  actions.
• Mark Moore, chapter author,
• The Power of Public Ideas

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We Need to Make Fundamental Changes in Way We Do
Business

• We need to articulate new ideas, frame new
  questions that cause us to deeply reexamine
• core assumptions about children and youth.
• commonly held assumptions about what constitute
  appropriate policy, programmatic, and personal
  responses.
• current thinking about how best to affect change
  in the systems and settings where young people
  spend their time.
• current thinking about what it means to focus and
  prioritize.

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• and we need to do this in real time, in the
  board rooms, cabinet meetings, task forces,
  steering committees, town meetings, organizing
  sessions, PTA meetings and community coalitions
  where options for change are discussed and
  recommendations and decisions are made.
• we need to give all stakeholders including
  young people and their families -- the language,
  incentives and tools they need to own the urgency
  and not back away from it.

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What Can School Administrators Do?

• Take the lessons home assess the quality of
  your school improvement plans do you have the
  stakeholders and strategies you need to succeed?
• Take the lessons to teachers, students and
  families provide common frameworks for
  assessing the quality of learning environments
  and prioritizing changes.
• Take the lessons to your public/private
  leadership tables assess your collective
  horsepower to act as a community.
• Keep the dialogue alive Take on this issue as a
  national organization.

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Harvard Change Model/Forums Conclusion

• C D x V x P
• Change Dissatisfaction x Vision x Plan
• Disconnected change efforts dissipate energy
• the more we focus (narrow), the more we fragment,
  the more we fail

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We Need You to Help Organize the White Space
Partners to Ensure that Every Young Person is
Ready for College, Work and Life

• prevention to participation
• cognitive, social, civic, physical

school
after-school
Join Us
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www.forumfyi.org